Things that Matter offers a sobering account of the alarming state of our healthcare system, fed by an unhealthy meals business and ongoing poverty that has tragically impacted marginalised communities akin to South Auckland. Although primarily based on Dr David Galler’s best-selling memoir Things That Matter: Stories of Life & Death, written three many years in the past, award-winning playwright Gary Henderson adeptly brings us to the current day displaying that nothing a lot has modified for our healthcare system, its sufferers, and important staff.
The predominant narrative, set in Middlemore hospital’s Accident & Emergency unit follows the more and more pressured and irritating working surroundings of the lead character Rafal Beckman (Ian Hughes) and his ethereal father Leon Beckman (Greg Johnson).
As an integral member of the South Auckland group, director Anapela Polata’ivao’s compassionate perception is the proper complement to Henderson’s script to carry this new work to life. Her course shows admirable restraint when delivering such weighty messaging in regards to the cyclical demise of Māori and Pasifika communities ensuing from NZ authorities’s failure to handle underlying and ongoing poverty, deprivation and lack of schooling.
While many scenes might have copied the frenetic environment that we’re accustomed to when watching medical exhibits akin to ER, Polata’ivao’s directorial decisions are the exact opposite, selecting to infiltrate our psyche with the utmost subtlety. It is that this mild contact that makes us as viewers members sit up and be aware of the sturdy messaging that’s being unravelled all through the manufacturing.
Kudos goes to Filament Eleven 11’s manufacturing designers Rachel Marlow and Bradley Gledhill whose set and lighting had been an absolute triumph. Without giving an excessive amount of away, it was the simplicity of the set that allowed the lighting to create a depth of discipline that created a magical dimension on what might have been a really sterile palette. It could be remiss to not point out the Poulima Salima’s backbone chilling music, alongside Matt Eller’s equally dramatic sound design, the “machine that goes ping” made well-known by Monty Python was additionally very a lot in proof.
The various solid, each ethnically and by way of age and expertise, is refreshing and nice to see at Auckland’s Waterfront Theatre. Watching the likes of the doyenne of theatre Donogh Rees (Raza Beckman), alongside stalwarts like David Aston (Simon/Matheson) and Johnson in motion was an absolute deal with. Ian Hughes (Rafal Beckman), Nicola Kāwana (Carol), Stacey Leilua (Ana/Tiara) and Semu Filipo (Sol/Chris) additionally gave standout performances.
Case research regarding three completely different sufferers had been cleverly used to weave medical dilemmas, tough choices, cultural sensitivities and the tragedy of demise and loss collectively into the narrative.
The scene that almost all efficiently displayed these themes was the bickering between an Asian physician Edie (Jen Huang) and the Samoan employees member performed by Leilua. We witness how language and the dearth of fastidiously expressed viewpoints can simply escalate and reveal pre-existing prejudices in addition to misunderstandings when coping with multicultural sufferers. A couple of extra equally meaty scenes like this one would have added much more gravitas to this already stellar manufacturing.
Dr Beckman’s staff itself is a typical microcosm of Aotearoa’s society enabling additional explorations of problems with racial prejudice, spiritual beliefs, questionable judgement, insane working hours, and dedication to the Hippocratic Oath. But regardless of the inanely dangerous bureaucratic cost-cutting choices, the care, kindness, and integrity of the medical employees nonetheless manages to shine by means of.
Political indifference is cleverly personified by the Minister of Health – seemingly extra excited by what’s “saleable” or “sexy” than really addressing the foundation of the issue.
While it was extremely fascinating seeing the lead character Rafal Beckman’s life as a physician artfully contrasted with tender tales about his Polish-Jewish household, in a second storyline, it was tough to see how such disparate plots might gel with each other. Although poignant, at instances it felt just like the backstory of the Beckmans’ ancestry diverted from the healthcare storyline. While each are greater than worthy topics to be tackled, it was unclear how they had been linked. Despite some initially welcomed mild aid that the story of the Beckmans offered (notably from the superbly unpleasant Judith (Margaret-Mary Hollins), that plotline slowly however absolutely morphed right into a horrific tragedy in itself.
Things that Matter is an important, informative, entertaining present that positively must be seen extensively. There is not any ‘bedpan’ humour or Carry On Doctor schtick right here, however a severe and diligent try to discover essential societal themes that reach past the fast and apparent well being crises in Aotearoa.
As with many opening nights, the primary half felt slightly bit lengthy particularly contemplating the bombardment of details, tragedies, relationships, politics and backstories we had been initially subjected to. However, the second half was most satisfying – by the point we had been ‘discharged’ it was clear that the ‘caring profession’ certainly has people who do care. And regardless of all of it human kindness can typically, however not all the time, triumph when confronted with probably the most tough of circumstances.
This present is presumably overambitious in its scope of points to debate, however by no means does that diminish its significance. There clearly is an abundance of material for Henderson to mine from Galler’s memoir. Personally we sit up for and would like to see a complementary present very quickly. ATC, please produce Everything Else that Matters directly.
Things That Matter performs ASB Waterfront Theatre Twelfth-Twenty seventh August 2023
